Any romanticized novels of the mob, to me, are just plain silly. Calling someone Don, the "respect", etc. Most all of the rituals came into practice after wiseguys viewed the Godfather. Aside from the Godfather novel, Nick Tosches, RIP, has created the most penetrating mob dialogues and storylines. Trinities, to me, is the single best mob book ever.
Puzo said all along that he wrote GF strictly for money (he was an admitted degenerate gambler, always in debt), and that he'd never met a known mobster in his life, just low level loan sharks. The movies, particularly 1 and 2, made the saga what it is, and it was mostly due to the consultants around the set who gave Coppola and the actors cues about the life. Joe Colombo deserves credit for a lot of this because once Albert S. Ruddy promised Colombo that the term "mafia" wouldn't be used in the film and that no real names would be used, Colombo blessed the project and provided Paramount with access to associates and even some made guys to provide consultation. All great timing.
